Pastoral Concerns

I understand myself to be a church theologian. In my teaching and writing, I wish to address not only academics, but also pastors and church leaders. My aim is to clarify the church’s faith in relation to Scripture and the church’s confessions. While I think primarily out of the Reformed tradition, I am deeply committed to learning from other Christian traditions.

My research interests include:

The future of the church in North America as social institutions become more secular and the religious landscape becomes more pluralistic

The pastor’s identity as biblical and theological interpreter

Worship and sacraments as theology

How churches like my own, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), can come to greater clarity about the faith that binds them to Christ and the church universal